by Bob Comet
Categories:
- Build type: [Scratch]
- Material: [Wood]
- Scale: [1:20]
- Subject Type: [Break-Bulk]
- Era: [1400-1700]
- Nationality: [Norway]
- Propulsion: [Pole/Oar] [Sail]
Model Images
About the Vessel
At the close of the Viking Age, five ships were sunk in Roskilde Fjord near the village of Skuldelev, Denmark. The vessels had been filled with stone and sunk to form a barrier, presumably to prevent the trading town of Roskilde from being raided by Norwegian Vikings. The local fishermen knew of the barrier, which manifested itself as a ridge of stones. In 1956, two amateur divers called at the Danish National Museum with pieces of a wrecked vessel they had found in Roskilde Fjord. The pieces revealed that the wreck was of the 10th-11th century, and this resulted in underwater exploration during three-summer seasons of 1957-1959. These explorations revealed that the barrier was comprised of a number of ships. In 1962 a cofferdam was built, and five ships were excavated from the mound of stones in under four months. The thousands of pieces were taken to the Danish National Museum for conservation with glycol. Ultimately, a museum was provided to house the assembled remains of the five ships, which included two long ships, one larger deep-sea merchant vessel, or knarr, one smaller coastal merchant vessel, and the smallest of the vessels, probably a ferry. Radiocarbon tests indicated that the vessels had been built about 1000 AD, and the barrier was set in place the first half of the eleventh century at a time when Norwegian Vikings repeatedly raided the Danish coast.
About the Model
The model is of the coastal merchant or trading vessel. It was built of oak and is a typical small merchant vessel of the Viking Era, used for carrying cargo across the Baltic and possibly the North Sea, and up large rivers. Freight was stowed amidships, while the crew of not more than 4-6 men kept to the half decks fore and aft. If necessary, oars could be thrust through oar holes in the gunwale strake, but generally the vessel moved under sail. Dimensions are length, 13.3m, breadth 3.3m, height amidships 1.6 m.
Model scale is about 1:20.